Mace Windu
Mace Windu is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, most famously portrayed by actor Samuel L. Jackson in the prequel films. However, Mace has been voiced by other actors in video games and other animated projects. Mace is a Jedi Master and one of the last members of the Jedi Council before the fall of the Galactic Republic. He is the Council's primary liaison to the Supreme Chancellor, although the Clone Wars cause him to question his firmest held beliefs. He has appeared at all Star Wars Weekends as a meetable character, alongside Kit Fisto and Shaak Ti. He also appeared in Hyperspace Hoopla. Background Personality Mace Windu had a unique personality for a Jedi. He was serious, intelligent, wise, and very cautious, to the point of occasional reluctance, being slow to trust or being mistrustful. Despite this, he was highly compassionate and extremely brave, as he willingly risked his life many times to protect the people of the Republic, as well as his fellow Jedi and even the clone troopers under his command. Mace firmly believed in the role of the Jedi as the Republic's servants rather than its rulers, and displayed a fierce dedication to the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic alike. However, despite these commendable/admirable traits, Mace was also arrogant and somewhat self-righteous; he was very confident in his own abilities, and saw very little fault in the Jedi or the Republic, believing they were always in the right and everyone else was in the wrong. As a Jedi, he was prideful, and known to be outspoken and occasionally sarcastic. However, he held his arrogance in check for the most part; he was humble towards individuals he believed were superior to him, such as Yoda, and treated most civilians and fellow Jedi with respect. Despite this, Mace didn't always hold his arrogance in check; he was shown to be somewhat cold, arrogant and dismissive towards individuals he believed were inferior to him, most notably fellow Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn, Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, all of whom he distrusted and treated with little respect (despite them all being exceptionally powerful Force-users, skilled lightsaber duelists, strong characters and loyal members of the Jedi Order in their own rights). During Ahsoka Tano's trial, Mace took his distrusting nature too far, to the point where he outright accused Ahsoka of lying to the Jedi Council and then coldly decided to strip her of her status as a Jedi and turn her over to the Republic military, an act that most of the other Council members agreed with. After finding out that Ahsoka was innocent, Mace took no responsibility for his actions, or for the Council's failure. Instead, he claimed that Ahsoka's traumatic experience had been nothing more than a test given to her by the Force. This shows that he was not only incapable of acknowledging or learning from his mistakes, but he was also incapable of apologizing or admitting when he was wrong. Ultimately, Mace's true motivation for all he did was a divergence from Jedi philosophy, as his personal belief system was an extremist viewpoint of peace at all costs. In his mind, peace was created by only one thing; civilization, and he viewed the Republic as the ultimate and only true civilization in the entire galaxy, thus developing an attachment towards the institution, and leaving him with a willingness to do anything to preserve the Republic, even if it meant violating the Jedi Code. This proved to be his ultimate downfall, when he resolved to execute the seemingly helpless Chancellor Palpatine, an unarmed opponent, spurring Anakin Skywalker into action. Powers and Abilities Powers *'The Force:' Mace was extremely powerful and had an extremely strong connection to the Force. Although he was not quite as powerful as Anakin Skywalker, Mace was still one of the most powerful Force-users of his time. **'Telekinesis:' Mace utilized Telekinesis either as offensive or defense. **'Force push:' Mace utilized Force push to send his opponents flying through the air, causing them serious injury or temporarily incapacitating them/knocked them unconscious. **'Force pull:' Mace utilized Force pull to pull his opponents or objects towards him. **'Force Wave:' Mace utilized Force Wave to unleash a wave of pure Force-energy that knocked back anything within the power's blast radius or push multiple opponents at once. **'Force Crush:' Mace utilized Force Crush to crush objects or droids. **'Force Flight:' Mace utilized Force Flight to levitate himself or other individuals off the ground, or to slow-down his or the individual's fall to the ground. **'Mind trick:' Mace utilized Mind trick to control the minds of other sentient beings, however, it did not work on individuals who have very strong wills. **'Force vision:' Mace utilized Force vision, to have visions of the past, the present and the future; however, like all Force-users, his visions were not always clear or sometimes had visions even when he was not utilizing this power at will. **'Force jump:' Mace utilized Force jump to jump or leap at great distances. **'Force Dash:' Mace utilized Force Dash to move at amazing speeds. *'Great Physical Strength:' Mace used his Force powers to increase his physical strength; this made him physically stronger then most other sentient beings. Abilities *'Lightsaber Skills:' Mace was extremely skilled in lightsaber combat and an extremely gifted duelist. He was arguably the greatest lightsaber duelist of his time, being able to defeat Palpatine in lightsaber combat, a feat which even Yoda could not achieve. However, it is possible that Palpatine intentionally allowed Mace to defeat him. **'Form V:' Mace was extremely skilled in Shien/Djem So. **'Form VII:' Mace was a master of Juyo/Vaapad. In fact, he was the only Jedi known to have truly mastered the style, as Juyo/Vaapad was generally favored by Dark side users due to it's aggression and unpredictability. *'High-Level Intellect/Master Tactician/Leader:' Mace was highly intelligent; his intelligence and wisdom was surpassed only by Anakin Skywalker, Yoda and Palpatine. As a Jedi General and the former leader of the Jedi Order, Mace was a highly skilled tactician and a very capable leader. Weapons and Equipment Lightsabers Mace's valued weapon and possession was his purple-bladed lightsaber. Mace's second lightsaber was made out of Electrum metal and black alloy; making it indestructible, even to other lightsabers. *'First Lightsaber:' Mace built his first purple-bladed lightsaber on Hurikane, it would remain in his possession until it was destroyed. *'Second Lightsaber:' Mace had built a new purple-bladed lightsaber, sometime before the First Battle of Geonosis, and used it throughout his Jedi career and the entirety of the Clone Wars. It would remain in his possession until his death, but it is unknown what happened to it after Mace's death; it was last seen falling out of a window. Film Appearances ''The Phantom Menace'' Mace was the leader of the Jedi Order, and head of the Jedi Council when Qui-Gon Jinn came back from Tatooine with news of a Sith. He also asked the Council if they would train a boy named Anakin Skywalker, who he sensed was strong with the Force and found he had more midichlorians than Yoda. Mace refused because he thought he was too old, but they tried him and refused to because his future was clouded with fear. He later attended Qui-Gon's funeral, along with Yoda. He was killed by the Sith Darth Maul on Naboo during the battle after Obi-Wan was separated from the duel due to the laser shields that lead to the chamber where the duel took place. While there Yoda said to him there are always a master and an apprentice with a Sith, Mace agreed but wondered which one Maul was. ''Attack of the Clones'' Ten years after Qui-Gon's death, a Separatist movement was being led by ex-Jedi Count Dooku, Qui-Gon's former mentor and Yoda's former apprentice. Also Senator Padmé Amidala was the victim of many assassination attempts. They had assigned Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker to protect her. After another attempt, the Council sent Obi-Wan to track the dart that killed Padmé's assassin and sent Anakin to Naboo to protect her. Later on, Obi-Wan reported that on the planet Kamino he found a bounty hunter named Jango Fett who he thought was the killer and the Council told him to arrest him. Later on they received a message from Obi-Wan who was on Geonosis who said that Dooku was working with Fett and Viceroy Nute Gunray is behind of the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala, although he was captured before he could finish. The message also went to Anakin who they denied rights to going to rescue Obi-Wan, although he disobeyed this to stay where he is currently. Windu led a strike team of Jedi to rescue him while Yoda went to get the Clone Army Obi-Wan told him about. When Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padmé were about to be executed, Mace came to the top balcony and put his lightstaber around Jango's throat while telling Dooku that "this party's over", but was shot off the balcony by Super Battle Droids and Jango's retaliation. Many Jedi came from the stands and they began to fight. During the battle, Fett came down and Mace decapitated him, leaving his son, Boba, an orphan. All Jedi were surrounded, with several casualties, and were given the option of surrender, but Mace refused. Yoda and the Clone Army came and saved them and Mace went to fight the Battle of Geonosis in the same ship as Yoda, Mater Ki-Adi Mundi and Jedi Knight Kit Fisto. The Clones became an army for the Republic and the Clone Wars started, in which Mace was made a general. ''Revenge of the Sith'' Three years after the start of the Clone Wars, Mace Windu was no longer the leader of the Jedi Order, and head of the Jedi Council, he had been replaced by Yoda. During the Clone Wars, the Council became increasingly suspicious of Chancellor Palpatine and his growing power in the Senate. The fearsome cyborg, General Grievous, had taken him captive and brought him aboard his ship above Coruscant. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his former Padawan Anakin Skywalker were sent by Mace to rescue him and they came back with him, claiming Anakin killed Dooku (who now went by Darth Tyrannus). Palpatine pointed out that Grievous was the leader of the droid army; Mace promised the Council would make it their highest priority to find Grievous. Mace and the other Council members denied Anakin's request to become a Jedi Master and asked him if he could spy on Palpatine, who had chosen Anakin as his representative on the Council. Yoda left to Kashyyyk to assist the Wookies that were under attack there, whilst Obi-Wan went to Utapau to kill Grievous now that he has been located there. Mace was later informed by Anakin that Palpatine was really the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious. Mace left with Kit Fisto, Saesse Tin and Agen Kolar to kill Sidious in his office (originally, he was only going to bring Agen Kolar before learning of this). When they got there, Sidious killed Tin and Kolar almost instantly. Kit was also slain very quickly and it was just Mace who was left. After a vicious duel, Mace shattered the window and disarmed Sidious. He had Sidious on the ground when he began to shoot Force lightning at him, but he managed to deflect it back with his lightsaber, disfiguring Sidious and unmasking his true hideous appearance. Anakin, who was secretly married to Padmè who was pregnant and believed only Sidious could save her if she died in birth, came in and begged Mace to spare Sidious. Mace refused, telling him that Sidious was the real traitor of the Galactic Republic and keeping him alive would be far too dangerous. As he was about to kill Sidious, Anakin intervened and cut off Mace's lightsaber arm. As he screamed in shock and pain, Sidious cackled, blasted him with Force lightning and Force-pushed Mace out of the broken window, sending him falling to his apparent death. Relationships Friends Yoda Like virtually all Jedi, Mace deeply respected Yoda and was trained by him. He always obeyed the ancient Jedi Master, though he did occasionally disagree with him. Obi-Wan Kenobi thumb|250px|Mace battling beside Obi-Wan. Mace had a healthy respect for Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan held Mace in high esteem for his mastery of Form VII. Despite their mutual respect for each other, however, Obi-Wan often disagreed with Mace's somewhat questionable decisions. This was because Obi-Wan was a moderate who followed the Jedi Code and Mace was an extremist who had a secret emotional attachment to the Republic. Ahsoka Tano Like most Jedi, Ahsoka held Mace in high esteem because of his mastery of Form VII, but he held her in low esteem because of her young age. What bond they had between them was destroyed when Ahsoka was accused of treason; like most of the Jedi, Mace refused to believe in her innocence and coldly expelled her from the Jedi Order without a fair trial. After Ahsoka was proved to be innocent, Mace was unapologetic to her; instead of taking responsibility for his actions, he somewhat arrogantly claimed that her traumatic experience had been nothing more than a test given to her by the Force. Though he was visibly surprised when Ahsoka chose to leave the Jedi for good, Mace never showed any genuine shame, guilt or remorse over his unjust treatment towards her. Anakin Skywalker Mace first met Anakin when Qui-Gon Jinn brought him to the Jedi Temple. He was not very sympathetic with the nine year old, and like most members of the Jedi Council refused to allow Qui-Gon to train him due to Anakin's age and thus believed him too old to begin training as an apprentice. Like Yoda, he was secretly afraid of Anakin, not because of what he was (that his connection to the Force was unusually powerful and strong), but because of what he could become in the future (an immensely powerful enemy of the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic); by the time of the events of Attack of the Clones, Mace had outgrown his fear of Anakin. After the invasion of Naboo was lifted, Mace reluctantly agreed to allow Anakin to be trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi, mainly because Obi-Wan had made it clear that he intended to train Anakin with or without the approval of the Jedi Council, as it was Qui-Gon's dying wish, but also because the Sith Order had come out of hiding and Anakin's potential made him someone who could one day defeat them. Over the years, Mace and Anakin came to respect each other fairly well due to their many similarities; both were born in the Outer Rim, both had secret emotional attachments, and both were hardliners who mastered particularly aggressive lightsaber styles (Anakin mastered both variants of Form V: Shein and Djem So, while Mace mastered both variants of Form VII: Juyo and Vaapad). However, they didn't always agree with each other and were not necessarily friends. The pair's respect for each other was severely shaken when Ahsoka was accused of treason; Anakin saw right away that Ahsoka had been framed, but Mace refused to even see this and urged that Anakin be left out of the matter because of the emotional bond between him and Ahsoka, but was undermined by Yoda and Obi-Wan. When Tarkin demanded that Ahsoka be expelled from the Jedi Order and turned over to the Republic military for her so-called treason, Mace urged them to give in. After a short Council meeting, Mace coldly had Ahsoka expelled from the Jedi Order. Anakin saw right away the meeting was just a formality to disguise how the Council was casting Ahsoka out for the sake of self-interest and was disgusted by Mace's shamelessness. After Ahsoka left for good, Anakin secretly developed a grudge against Mace. As the Clone War dragged on, Mace became increasingly mistrustful of Anakin, believing he was unstable, unpredictable and unreliable. Anakin's dislike for Mace was intensified when the latter rather coldly denied him the rank of Jedi Master when Anakin was placed on the Jedi Council, something Anakin perceived as an insult. Mace also ordered him, via Obi-Wan, to spy on Palpatine, whom Anakin considered a friend and mentor, further fueling Anakin's anger. When Anakin informed him of Palpatine's true Sith identity, Mace quickly accepted the truth, but refused to allow him to accompany him in confronting Palpatine, believing he was too much of a risk. After Mace subdued Palpatine, he resolved to execute the Dark Lord of the Sith, believing he was too dangerous to be left alive due to his near-dictatorial power in the Senate. Anakin pleaded with Mace to spare Palpatine, pointing out that killing an unarmed opponent was not the Jedi way, but Mace, too focused on the Dark Lord of the Sith and blinded by his emotional attachment to the Republic, ignored him and prepared to strike. However, Anakin stopped Mace by cutting off the hand wielding his lightsaber, allowing Palpatine to kill him. Despite his dislike for Mace, Anakin was horrified by what he had done and showed at least some remorse over his part in Mace's demise, but knew there was no turning back and reluctantly pledged himself to the Dark Side. Enemies Sheev Palpatine/Darth Sidious At first, Mace respected and admired Palpatine for his clean slate. When Dooku revealed the existence of Darth Sidious and that the Dark Lord of the Sith had hundreds of Senators under his control, Mace, unlike Yoda, took it seriously and vowed to keep a closer eye on the Galactic Senate. As Palpatine amassed near-dictatorial powers, Mace began to realize he was not what he seemed. When the CIS invaded Coruscant, Mace realized that it was an inside job and that Dooku was telling the truth. Mace later had Anakin spy on Palpatine, and Anakin later revealed that Palpatine and Darth Sidious were in fact the same person. Shocked and startled by this terrible revelation, Mace immediately confronted the Dark Lord and just barely managed to defeat him with a combination of his mastery of Vaapad and his shatter-point ability. Deciding that he was too dangerous to be kept alive, Mace prepared to execute the Dark Lord of the Sith, only to have his sword arm severed by an emotionally insecure and desperate Anakin, allowing Palpatine to kill him. Gallery Trivia *Samuel L. Jackson, Mace's actor, expressed interest in reprise his role of Mace in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but as a Force Ghost. However, Mace didn't appear in the film, like Boba Fett and Lando Calrissian. External Links * Category:Characters Category:Star Wars characters Category:Heroes Category:Swordsmen Category:Deceased characters Category:Wise Characters Category:Males Category:Jedi Category:Galactic Republic Characters Category:Live-Action Characters Category:Animated characters Category:Disney INFINITY characters Category:Characters in video games Category:Knights Category:Generals Category:Mentors Category:TV Animation Characters